Rothschild family
A house formerly belonging to the Viennese branch of the family (Schillersdorf Palace). Schloss Hinterleiten, one of the many palaces built by the Austrian Rothschild dynasty. Donated to charity by the family in 1905. Beatrice de Rothschild's villa on the Côte d'Azur, France The Rothschild family is a family descending from Mayer Amschel Rothschild, a court Jew to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel, in the Free City of Frankfurt, who established his banking business in the 1760s.[1] Unlike most previous court Jews, Rothschild managed to bequeath his wealth, and established an international banking family through his five sons.[2] Five lines of the Austrian branch of the family have been elevated to Austrian nobility, being given five hereditary titles of Barons of the Habsburg Empire by Emperor Francis II in 1816. Family overview[edit] The first member of the family who was known to use the name "Rothschild" was Izaak Elchanan Rothschild, born in 1577. Families by country: Wine[edit]
Great Depression
USA annual real GDP from 1910–60, with the years of the Great Depression (1929–1939) highlighted. The unemployment rate in the US 1910–1960, with the years of the Great Depression (1929–1939) highlighted. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the world's economy can decline.[2] The depression originated in the U.S., after the fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929, and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday). The Great Depression had devastating effects in countries rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. Start Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, optimism persisted for some time; John D. Economic indicators Causes General theoretical explanations
Fractional-reserve banking
Fractional-reserve banking is the practice whereby a bank holds reserves in an amount equal to only a portion of the amount of its customers' deposits to satisfy potential demands for withdrawals. Reserves are held at the bank as currency, or as deposits reflected in the bank's accounts at the central bank. Because bank deposits are usually considered money in their own right, fractional-reserve banking permits the money supply to grow to a multiple (called the money multiplier) of the underlying reserves of base money originally created by the central bank.[1][2] Fractional-reserve banking is the current form of banking in all countries worldwide.[3] History[edit] Fractional-reserve banking predates the existence of governmental monetary authorities and originated many centuries ago in bankers' realization that generally not all depositors demand payment at the same time.[4] How it works[edit] In most legal systems, a bank deposit is not a bailment. Economic function[edit] Formula[edit]
Woodrow Wilson
In his first term as President, Wilson persuaded a Democratic Congress to pass a legislative agenda that few presidents have equaled, remaining unmatched up until the New Deal in 1933.[2] This agenda included the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Farm Loan Act and an income tax. Child labor was curtailed by the Keating–Owen Act of 1916, but the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1918. Wilson also had Congress pass the Adamson Act, which imposed an 8-hour workday for railroads.[3] Although considered a modern liberal visionary giant as President, Wilson was "deeply racist in his thoughts and politics" and his administration racially segregated federal employees and the Navy.[4][5] According to Wilson biographer A. Scott Berg, author of Wilson, an 815-page biography; "No matter what time you lived, some of the things Wilson said and did were racist. That being said, I do think that for his day, he was a centrist.
The Money Masters
Federal Reserve Act
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve Act (ch. 6, 38 Stat. 251, enacted December 23, 1913, 12 U.S.C. ch. 3) is an Act of Congress that created and set up the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States of America, and granted it the legal authority to issue Federal Reserve Notes, now commonly known as the U.S. Dollar, and Federal Reserve Bank Notes as legal tender. The Act[edit] The Federal Reserve Act created a system of private and public entities; there were to be at least eight, and no more than 12, private regional Federal Reserve banks. With the passing of the Federal Reserve Act, Congress required that all nationally chartered banks become members of the Federal Reserve System. Background[edit] Central banking has made various institutional appearances throughout the history of the United States. The First Bank of United States[edit] The American financial system was deeply fragmented after the revolutionary war. The 2nd Bank of the United States[edit]
Central bank
The primary function of a central bank is to manage the nation's money supply (monetary policy), through active duties such as managing interest rates, setting the reserve requirement, and acting as a lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of bank insolvency or financial crisis. Central banks usually also have supervisory powers, intended to prevent bank runs and to reduce the risk that commercial banks and other financial institutions engage in reckless or fraudulent behavior. Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference.[4][5] Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists.[6][7] The chief executive of a central bank is normally known as the Governor, President or Chairman. History[edit] Prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. Bank of England[edit] The sealing of the Bank of England Charter (1694). Spread around the world[edit]
Gold standard
All references to "dollars" in this article refer to the United States dollar, unless otherwise stated. Under a gold standard, paper notes are convertible into preset, fixed quantities of gold. A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. Three types may be distinguished: specie, exchange, and bullion. As of 2013 no country used a gold standard as the basis of its monetary system, although some hold substantial gold reserves. A total of 174,100 tonnes of gold have been mined in human history, according to GFMS as of 2012. History Origin The gold specie standard arose from the widespread acceptance of gold as currency. In modern times, the British West Indies was one of the first regions to adopt a gold specie standard. Australia and New Zealand adopted the British gold standard, as did the British West Indies, while Newfoundland was the only British Empire territory to introduce its own gold coin. Silver Japan
